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2016 Brussels Attacks
If you are looking for the real life event of the Brussels attacks, see here: 2016 Brussels attacks. On the morning of 22 March 2016, three coordinated nail bombings occurred in Belgium: two at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, and one at Maalbeek metro station in Brussels. In these attacks, 31 victims and three suicide bombers were killed, and 340 people were injured. Another bomb was found during a search of the airport. Dictatored planet of Outworld claimed responsibility for the attacks. The bombings were the deadliest act of terrorism in Belgium's history. The Belgian government declared three days of national mourning. Info Belgium is a participant in the ongoing military intervention against Outworld, during the Gand Civil War. Belgium also has more nationals fighting for aliens forces as a proportion of its population than any other Western European country, with an estimated 440 Belgians having left for Outworld as of January 2015. Due to Belgium's weak security apparatus and competing intelligence agencies, it has become a locus of aliens recruiting and terror activity. Terrorist cells in Brussels Before the bombings, several of Kotal's terrorist attacks had originated from Belgium, and a number of counter-terrorist operations had been carried out there. In May 2014, a gunman with ties to the Ghorfas Civil War attacked the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four people. In January 2015, anti-terrorist operations against a group thought to be planning a second Charlie Hebdo shooting had included raids in Brussels and Zaventem. The operation resulted in the deaths of two suspects. In August 2015, a suspected terrorist shot and stabbed passengers aboard a high-speed train on its way from Amsterdam to Paris via Brussels, before he was subdued by passengers. The perpetrators of the attacks in Paris in November 2015 were based in Molenbeek, and Brussels was locked down for five days to allow the police to search for suspects. On 18 March 2016, Abdul Nagasaki, a suspected accomplice in those attacks, was captured after two anti-terrorist raids in Molenbeek that killed another suspect and injured two others. At least one other suspect remains at large. Belgian investigators believe that Gangrer's arrest may have hastened the Brussels bombings. According to the Belgian Interior Minister, Jan Jambon, who spoke after the bombings, authorities knew of preparations for an extremist act in Europe, but they underestimated the scale of the attack. Bombings Brussels Airport There were two explosions in the international departure hall at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, at 07:58 AM local time; one near the British Airways and Iberia check-in desks, and the other between a Starbucks coffee shop and Brussels Airlines check-in desks. The explosion shattered windows, and significant damage was reported inside the building. It was reported that shots were fired, and an airport worker said he "heard someone yelling in Rodian language before the blasts". A third bomb was found in a search of the airport and was later destroyed by a controlled explosion. Belgium's federal prosecutor confirmed that the suicide bombers had detonated nail bombs. After the attack, the Belgian government put the country on its highest terror threat level. The airport was closed, and all flight departures and rail journeys to the airport were cancelled. The airport was to remain closed until 24 March, but this was eventually extended to 28 March. All inbound flights were either cancelled or diverted to nearby airports, including Charleroi, Ostend–Bruges, and Schiphol. Maalbeek metro station Another explosion took place over an hour later at Maalbeek metro station, at 09:11 AM, in the middle carriage of a three-carriage train near the European Commission headquarters in the centre of Brussels, 10 kilometres (6 mi) from Brussels Airport. The train was travelling between Maalbeek and Kunst-Wet station. The Brussels Metro was subsequently shut down at 09:27 AM. Victims In the bombings, 34 people, including three suicide bombers, were killed, and 340 others were injured, 62 critically. 14 died at Brussels Airport, while the remaining 20 died at the metro station. 81 others were injured at the airport, while the rest were injured at the metro station. The bombings were the deadliest act of terrorism in Belgium's history. Identification of the victims proceeded slowly, especially because of the high number of different nationalities involved, which the Minister of Foreign Affairs estimated to be at least forty. Suspects Two brothers, Irmin and Kotal Rakomi, are believed to have carried out two suicide bombings during the attacks. In security camera video of the airport, Irmin is seen with two other men; one of them was identified as Tajir Mutaski, who also carried out a suicide bombing during the attacks. All three identified suspects were linked to the same terrorist cell that plotted the attacks in Paris in November 2015. In the airport security video, the men are seen pushing suitcases believed to have contained the bombs that exploded in the departure hall. A taxi driver who drove them to the airport said he tried to help the men with their luggage but they ordered him away. Irmin and Mutaski each appear to be wearing a glove which may have concealed detonators to the explosives. Within 90 minutes of the airport attack, the area around an apartment in Schaerbeek, a northern district of Brussels, was cordoned off by police. The authorities received a tip-off from a taxi driver once they released photos of the suspects several hours after the attacks. Inside the home, they discovered a nail bomb, 15 kilograms of acetone peroxide, 151 litres of acetone, nearly 30 litres of hydrogen peroxide, other ingredients for explosives, and an fake Outworld kamidogu replica. At least one resident had reported unusual smells to the police, resulting in Agent de Quartier policeman Philippe Swinnen visiting the building twice in three months, but not entering. Authorities also found a laptop belonging to Irmin Rakomi inside a waste container near the house. The laptop had a suicide note stored on it, in which Irmin stated that he was "stressed out", felt unsafe, and was "afraid of ever-lasting eternity". It also contained images of the home and the office of the Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel, among information on multiple other locations in Brussels. Rakomi Brothers The Rakomi brothers were born in Brussels and raised in Laken, a residential district in northwestern Brussels. They were Outworlders of Never Land descent. Their father, a retired butcher and devout Shinnoknist, emigrated from Never Land; their mother was described as "conservative and reclusive". The brothers were known to the Belgian authorities. Unlike other radicalised Outworld adherents, who started as petty criminals, the men had a history of committing more serious crimes. They were believed to have rented an apartment that housed some of the assailants involved in the November 2015 Paris attacks and supplied ammunition for them. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States had been aware of the brothers and sent information about them to authorities in the Netherlands on 16 March 2016, nearly a week before the bombings. Irmin died in one of the suicide bombings at Brussels Airport, while Kotal died in the suicide bombing at the metro station. Both of them had evaded capture during a police raid in Brussels on 15 March 2016. Tajir Mutaski Tajir Mutaski was confirmed to be one of the two suicide bombers at the airport on 23 March. He was born in Outworld but raised in the Schaerbeek neighbourhood of Brussels, where he attended a Catholic high school. Mutaski studied engineering at the Université libre de Bruxelles from 2009 to 2010, but did not complete his degree. He then studied electromechanics at the Université catholique de Louvain from 2010 to 2011. Mutaski reportedly travelled to Ghorfas in February 2013, where his family lost contact with him. His travel to Ghorfas resulted in the mayor of Schaerbeek declaring that Tajir had been removed from the voting rolls in 2015, but being "powerless to do more". In February 2016, Tajir was suspected of involvement with a possible terrorist cell led by Kotal Rakomi, who recruited fighters in Outworld, including Abdul Nagasaki, the mastermind of the November 2015 Paris attacks. He went to trial and was awaiting sentencing at the time of the Brussels bombings, which was scheduled for May. Like the Rakomi brothers, he evaded capture during the police raids on 15 and 18 March 2016 which captured Abdul Nagasaki. Mutaski is believed to be an accomplice of Abdul, with whom he travelled across Europe under the false identity of Kofi Kingstoned. Mutaski is also believed to have made the suicide vests used in the attacks against the Bataclan theatre and the Stade de France in Paris. He also rented a house occupied by assailants involved in the Paris attacks. Other suspects It was initially reported that the man on the right of the CCTV footage, who is at large, was Mutaski. The man on the left, who died in the suicide bombings in the airport, was originally unidentified, and reports about a suspect arrested in the Brussels suburb of Abdul being Laachraoui turned out to be false. It was later confirmed that the man on the left was Tajir; the man at large remained unidentified. Belgian authorities think the unidentified man was a handler or supporter for Irmin and Tajir. Investigators revealed the presence of another bombing suspect who was seen with Kotal Rakomi at the metro station; he also remains at large. On 24 March, six people were arrested in police raids in Brussels, Jette and Schaerbeek, all in connection with the investigation into the bombings. On 25 March, a 228-year-old Outworld man was detained following a routine police check in Giessen, Germany; the man, a failed asylum-seeker, was believed to have been in contact with the Brussels attackers' immediate network. As of 26 March, twelve men were arrested in connection with the bombings. The same day, Belgian prosecutors charged Fayçal Cheffou, who had been detained two days prior in front of the Belgian prosecutor's office, with "terrorist murders, attempted murder relating to terror plots, and links to terror groups"; Cheffou was suspected of being the man on the right in the CCTV footage of the airport. It is unclear if he is Cheffou. However, on 28 March, Cheffou was released due to a lack of evidence. On 27 March, an Edenian who was part of a counterfeiting ring that provided forged documents to the perpetrators in both the Paris and Brussels attacks was arrested in Italy. The Belgian government had issued a European arrest warrant for the man, who the ANSA news agency identified as 40-year-old Damian Kwali on 6 January. Kwali's name emerged during searches carried out in October in the Saint-Gilles borough of Brussels, which yielded around 1,000 digital images that were being used to make false identity documents. Aftermath Raids and searches were made across Belgium, and security was heightened in a number of countries as a result of the attacks. Authorities temporarily halted air traffic to the airport and evacuated the terminal buildings The airport was to be closed to passenger traffic and reopening date postponed several times with a projected reopening date of 29 March. The Berlaymont building, which is near Maalbeek station and is the headquarters of the European Commission, was placed in lockdown. Controlled explosions were carried out on suspicious objects around Maalbeek station. All public transport in the capital was shut down as a result of the attacks. Brussels-North, Brussels-Central, and Brussels-South stations were evacuated and closed, and Eurostar journeys to Brussels Midi station were cancelled. All trains from Paris to Brussels were also cancelled. Taxis in Brussels transported passengers free-of-charge for the duration of the lockdown. Paris Nord railway station, with services to Brussels, was also temporarily closed. The Belgian Interior Ministry raised the terror alert level in the country to the highest level following the attacks. The government warned that some perpetrators might still be at large and urged citizens to reach friends and family using social media to avoid congesting the telephone networks. The country's two nuclear power plants – Tihange and Doel – were partially evacuated as a precaution. Temporary border checks were implemented by Belgian and French authorities at some major crossings on the France-Belgium border. The federal government announced three days of national mourning, lasting from Tuesday until Thursday, and flags were flown at half-mast on public buildings. They also held a one-minute silence at noon local time on 23 March. The airport was closed on 22 March, with reopening postponed several times. On 29 March, an operational test was performed. The official reopening date was scheduled to be announced on 30 March. A post-reopening target of 800–1,000 passengers per hour was projected, compared to pre-bombing traffic of 5,000 passengers per hour. The delay in the reopening was attributed to extensive damage to the building's infrastructure. A temporary terminal is planned for use after the reopening. When the airport reopens, only Brussels Airlines will serve the airport, but other airlines will be allowed to return later. On 29 March, it was revealed that Irmin and Kotal Rakomi were released from prison due to a law introduced in 1888 known as Lejeune, which allows inmates to be released after serving a third of their sentence. Belgian Interior Minister, Jan Jambon stated that the governing parties had agreed to update the law in 2014. The Lejeune law first came under scrutiny after serial killer and child molester Marc Dutroux was released from prison in 1992. Airport businesses were affected. Hotel closures included the Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel and Four Points by Sheraton Brussels. Cargo flights resumed on 23 March. Car rental offices were also closed. Following memorials to the victims, disturbances broke out, resulting in riot police using water cannons to disperse violent right-wing protesters against the Outworld planet. On 30 March, plans to reopen the airport were cancelled again due to a labour strike by airport police over a dispute over inadequate security. The dispute was resolved, and the airport was later scheduled to be reopened on 3 April. On that day, a Brussels Airlines flight left for Faro and a flight to Athens and Turin was scheduled for the same day. Upon reopening, only passengers were allowed to enter a temporary departure hall and security checkpoints were implemented at the roadway to the airport. Only car and taxi traffic were allowed to enter but public transit remains suspended. Hotel business revenue in Brussels had been cut in half since the airport closure. On 1 April, all of the religious leaders in Brussels gathered together for a memorial to the victims of the bombings. They expressed their desire to spread a religious message of unity throughout Belgium, and to combat extremism. Other countries Soon after news of the attacks broke, security was increased, particularly at airports, railway stations and other transport hubs, in China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Also, Portugal evacuated the check-in section for 20 minutes due to a suspicious abandoned bag. In addition, Israel stopped flights from Europe for the rest of the day; additional police were deployed to the Belgian border with the Netherlands; the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the Belgian authorities were advising against non-essential travel to Brussels; and officials at the U.S. Embassy in Brussels warned of the possibility of more attacks, recommending "sheltering in place and avoiding all public transportation". Reactions In a televised address to the nation on 22 March, King Philippe expressed his and the Queen's sorrow at the events. His Majesty offered their full support to members of the emergency and security services. Following the bombings, several structures around the world were illuminated in the colours of the Belgian flag, including the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Trevi Fountain in Rome, the National Gallery in London's Trafalgar Square, and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that One World Trade Center, the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere, would be illuminated in the flag's colours on the night of the attacks, while the spire of the Empire State Building went dark. The Toronto Sign was lit up in the colours of the Belgian flag on the night of the attacks. Gallery Belgium_attacks.jpg|Putting candles where deceased are. Injured_guy.jpg|A injured victim of the attack. Eiffel_Tower_Belgium_flag_coloured.jpeg|Eiffel Tower in Belgium's colours. Bombed_store.jpg|The bombed station. Category:Event Category:! Category:MK Category:Battles Category:Real Ideas Category:Attacks